Dr. Haque Speaks
“I don’t believe in Chiropractic!”
I have been a Chiropractor for about 4 years now and I didn’t realized how much controversy there is about my profession until I went to Chiropractic College. I thought Chiropractic was like any other specialized medical field and that people who had spinal problems or back pain would know that they should see a Chiropractor like they see an optometrist for their vision problems, or a dentist for their teeth. Now that I am practicing and growing my office I always encounter people at the grocery store, parties and other common places who are complaining of aches and pains.
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If I tell them I am a Chiropractor a lot of them will hesitate, kind of chuckle and say, “I don’t believe in Chiropractors”. This statement makes me wonder if Chiropractic is thought of as a religion of some kind where you either are a true believer or not, and if you are, you must go forever to your chiropractor to relieve you of your pain and clear your sins. |
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When I ask these people who respond that way if they have ever been to a Chiropractor a lot of them say no and tell me how they heard of some scary story where their friend went and got their back “cracked” and they are now “addicted”.
So what happens to these people who are “believers” in Chiropractic or are “addicted” to getting their backs “cracked”? Actually, Chiropractic is not a religion or myth of any kind.
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Chiropractic has been supported by over a hundred years of research and scientific evidence and has become the largest natural health profession in the world. Many patients of Chiropractic offices speak out to their friends and families about their recovery from their chronic pains they thought they had to live with or had been accustomed to popping 4-5 pain killers a day. |
A lot of these people who have discovered Chiropractic find that getting their spine adjusted was not only a relief of pain but a solution to the cause of their injuries and the resulting pain. Most of my patients who come to “believe” in Chiropractic practices tell me how they had no idea how the body really worked and where their pain was coming from. Many of them also confess that they found relief in other functions of their body once they began to receive Chiropractic adjustments. So how does this all really work?
Here are the facts. The human body is one of the most intricate, complex and amazing creatures on the planet. The reason for this is because of our brain’s ability to control all of our body’s functions. How our brains communicate with the body is through the spinal cord and nerves. The spinal cord is located in the vertebral column which many of us call our back bone and the nerves pass through each vertebral level. Theses nerves act like telephone wires sending messages from the brain to all the organs muscles and tissues in the body and vice versa. It is also the nerves that allow us to feel sensations from excitement to pain. This all summed up is how our bodies work every single second of the day.
So how does this all relate to getting your back “cracked” you wonder? Since the vertebral column houses this amazing information highway (the spinal cord and nerves), vertebrae that fall out of alignment can put pressure on these nerves.
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Now this pressure does not have to be a lot to cause dis-function. In fact, many people have no pain for years even though there is pressure on a nerve because only a small portion of the nerve (20%) carries sensation to the brain. This person might have other effects that they are unaware of such as digestive problems, heart burn, sinus/allergies, a feeling of fatigue and many other signs of a decreased nervous system. |
Chiropractors are trained to evaluate the spine and find these misaligned vertebrae called subluxations. Once the subluxations are found, a Chiropractor will move the vertebrae gently and safely into proper position and motion in order to release pressure off the nerves.
This method of finding pressure on nerves and carefully removing it by Chiropractic adjustments is what has been the source of the controversy. Many medical doctors and other health professionals will not recommend their patients to Chiropractors and some even tell their patients to stay away from Chiropractic care and continue to prescribe pain killers and cortisone injections. Why medical doctors do not send their patient to see a Chiropractor is where the controversy may be. A pain killer is not a solution to the cause of aches and pain and has shown to have addictive properties and serious side effects. Just think about how many people you know taking an over the counter medication on a daily basis for several years and counting. Many of these people take a string of pills daily such as a blood pressure medication, a heart burn medication, a laxative and the list continues. Is it possible that a domino effect is the cause of the many ailments and string of medications that follow?
Chiropractic care is not about a “belief” or an “addiction”. The “addiction” of Chiropractic care may be the addiction to feeling healthy and pain free and wanting to stay that way. This addiction can be compared to the addiction of exercising, brushing and flossing daily and eating healthy. The “belief” of Chiropractic may always be a controversy but whether or not people choose to discover what Chiropractic care really is, Chiropractors around the world are growing and continuing to spread miracles to people by providing them with a solution to their pain and helping their nervous systems to function more optimally. |
